


the price of love

by opalescentheart



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 10:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11124858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalescentheart/pseuds/opalescentheart
Summary: Takes place after the events of 3x22. Oswald has a couple of things to say to frozen!Ed.





	the price of love

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Farah (mymycorrhizae) for beta reading! <3

“Are you sure about wanting that as the centerpiece attraction for your club?” Ivy asks, eyebrows raised as she looks at Nygma’s frozen statue. “Kinda creepy, if you ask me.”

Oswald’s lips curve into a satisfied smile. He takes another sip from his drink. “Oh yes, I am sure. And trust me, I will tell every single guest _who_ he is, _what_ he’s done to me and how, in the end, it was _me_ that outsmarted and defeated him.”

Ivy shoots him an affectionate smile, leaning against the smaller man. “Yeah, what you did to him was pretty... _cool_.”

Oswald chuckles, eyes twinkling. “Oh yeah, it most definitely was.”

“Well, anyway, I’m tired. Gonna hit the pillow now. ‘Night, Pengy,” Ivy says in between a yawn and leans down to give Oswald a peck on the cheek, who this time, doesn’t pull away with a disgusted expression, but instead leans in and squeezes the girl’s arm tenderly. 

“Goodnight, Ivy. And...thank you,” he says quietly, heaviness suddenly settling over him like a thick cloak.

“No prob,” Ivy says cheerfully and heads off, leaving Oswald alone with his bottle of vodka and his icebound former best friend.

Oswald watches him for a couple of minutes, silent but with his emotions slowly beginning to wash over him - the increasing amount of alcohol in his bloodstream might be to blame for that.

Tears begin to well up in his eyes. Oswald doesn’t even try to blink them back. Whatever for? Even if Ed _could_ see him right now - there is nothing to hide. He’s been stripped bare in front of the man in every sense possible. 

Just the thought triggers almost unbearable pain - his heart feeling like it’s about to be ripped apart.

It’s a pain Oswald has become familiar with by now. A pain he knows will be part of him for the rest of his life.

With a gut-wrenching sob tearing out of him, Oswald grips his half-empty glass of vodka and throws it against the massive block of ice. As it bursts into a dozen pieces, Oswald can’t help but think that _this_ is how it had felt - to get his heart broken by Edward Nygma.

Tears now fully streaming down his cheeks, Oswald hobbles closer towards the ice statue. 

“You know,” he begins, voice thick and trembling, “I had hope. I thought maybe this time you wouldn’t pull the trigger.”

Oswald has to pause, chewing on his quivering bottom lip and squeezing his eyes shut to keep himself from breaking down completely. After a few moments, Oswald eventually scoffs before he looks back up. “I know, how naive.”

His lips twitch into a pained smile. “I guess, after everything, I still had hope.” Oswald gives a little shrug, sniffling as more tears keep coming. “I thought, that maybe, despite everything...you cared about me. And regretted-”

Oswald bites his lip, face setting into a frown before averting his gaze again.

He hates to admit it. But seeing just how keen Ed had been on killing him again, getting rid of him _for good_ this time - it had hurt. Maybe even more than it had the first time, when the cruel truth of Ed’s betrayal had been laid bare to him. 

It had proven to him, that Ed truly did not regret. Didn’t miss him. Probably never really cared about him in the first place.

Maybe, this had been Ed’s plan all along. 

The silence almost seems to mock him now.

Finally, Oswald dares to look again. Unsurprisingly, Ed hasn’t moved at all. Still unmoving and lifeless _._

At least, it means, Oswald doesn’t have to see that smug smile again. The one Ed had worn while taunting him about his feelings.

And there, just the memory of it, sparks another flare of boiling-hot fury inside him, causing him to tumble back towards the small coffee table. Grabbing the bottle, Oswald flings it with every ounce of strength he’s got. Dozens of splinters, mixing with the clear liquid, spread in the air before crashing back down onto the ground.

Oswald’s pulse is racing, rage-induced heat unfurling over him and painting his cheeks and the tip of his ears a bright pink.

“You want to _mock_ me for falling in love, Ed?!” Oswald yells, voice hoarse and broken before it erupts into an almost hysterical laugh. “ _You_ \- who fell in love with some random woman after what? A few hours?”

Oswald huffs out another bitter laugh, and it’s then, that the dull ache in his chest begins to fade as the triumph of his realization begins to settle in.

“Now, look where your _foolish love_ got you,” he says, a satisfied grin spreading on his lips as he gestures towards Ed’s frozen form. “I would say, love weakened you as much as it did me. But unlike you, I managed to let the pain it caused - _you_ caused me - to make me stronger, Ed.”

For a while, Oswald just stands there, letting his triumph pour over him, like rain after a long hot summer’s day, washing away the pain and humiliation that’s been gripping him for so long.

Eventually, when his tears have dried, Oswald walks back over to the icy statue. He places his hand against it, wincing a little at the cold contact. 

There’s tenderness as he looks at Ed’s face now. “At least, I now know that I am fully capable of love. And for that I will remain forever thankful, my dear old friend. Goodbye.” 


End file.
